Starting Point collects 500 pages worth of essays by, interviews with, and preliminary film proposals by Hayao Miyazaki, the filmmaker responsible for Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and my personal favourite, My Neighbor Totoro. If you've never seen a Miyazaki film, go now. Go to YouTube, do a little search, let the delight wash over you as a totoro roars, or a gang of soot balls surround you.

Beyond giving insight into the creation process and growth of the great artist, all the writing in Starting Points is imbued with the joy and bright hopefulness that characterizes Miyazaki's films.

Included are reprints of comics he did too! This one's called "Dining in Midair" and is a historical examination of meals eaten in airplanes.

Project plan for My Neighbor Totoro:

Also: apparently Osamu Tezuka and Miyazaki were rivals?!?! WHAT SIDE OUGHT ONE TO TAKE?

Starting Points has gossip, comics, and stories about totoros. What more could you want?